Infiltrator vest



INFILTRATOR VEST Filed Oct. 19. 1967 United States Patent 3,529,307 INFILTRATOR VEST Gary W. Belson and Norman R. Belson, both of 109 6th Ave., Belmar, NJ. 07719 Filed Oct. 19, 1967, Ser. No. 676,564 lint. Cl. A41d N02 US. Cl. 2-94 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A combat vest having a left and a right section secured adjacent the center of the wearers back by lacing threaded through longitudinal lines of openings in each section. The front of the vest is separably connected together. An individual half belt is joined to each section for carrying equipment and the half belts form free front and rear straps which may be tied together to provide snug fit. Magazine pouches having side openings are secured to the vest front.

This invention relates to the field of art of combat vests for soldiers.

In some military operations since the end of World War II the nature of combat has drastically changed. Instead of major battles between large opposing forces the actions involve small groups of soldiers in short skirmishes. Specifically, in the Viet Nam conflict many operations are conducted by a small group of infiltrators who probe to find the enemy and after contacting the enemy call in for swift reeinforcements and fire power. These actions take place under extremely adverse conditions of heat and rainfall in dense jungles, wading through streams and rice paddies, etc. In typical examples, a small group of soldiers may perform a routine patrol to prove or infiltrate an area of jungle, or a helicopter assault may be made on a rice paddy where it is suspected that the enemy has massed. In these types of actions each soldier must carry on his own body substantially all the equipment that he will need for survival, because once contact is made with the enemy it is extremely difficult to provide the individual soldier with ammunition and other equipment. However, in view of the conditions, the equipment carried should be as light as possible while still being highly reliable and able to withstand the hot, wet climate.

Each soldier ordinarily wears a cartridge or pistol belt which carries two small arms ammunition pouches, canteen pouches, etc., and are distributed about the waist and back of the soldier. Other supplies which cannot be carried on the pistol belt such as food are contained in a -sock slung on the shoulders. An important difiiculty has been that after contact is made with the enemy, the soldier will ordinarily be lying on his stomach, firing his rifle. In order to reach his ammunition pouches he must roll over either on his back or at least to his side to reach the pouches and remove the magazines. After securing the magazines he rolls back on his stomach and reloads his weapon. Accordingly, he becomes more vulnerable to enemy ground fire and his movement causes his equipment to rattle which attracts enemy attention. This noise problem also occurs while the soldier walks through the jungle since the equipment hangs from a belt and harness. A further difficulty has been that the weight of the equipment is not fitted nor balanced on the body of the individual soldier. The soldier therefore becomes fatigued more easily, develops muscular pains and efficiency is substantially decreased. While ammunition equipment carrying jackets have been provided in which the weight of the load is distributed, such jackets have not been suitable to solve the foregoing problems.

3,529,307 Patented Sept. 22, 1970 ICC Accordingly, an object of the present invention is an infiltrator vest which may be snugly fitted to the wearer to allow him freedom of movement.

Another object of the invention is an infiltrator vest which allows the wearer to easily reach ammunition and in which all of the equipment is arranged on the vest to provide for a balanced load.

A still further object is an infiltrator vest having provision for ventilation and shifting of the vest to minimize chafing while still maintaining a snug fit.

For further objects and advantages of the present invention and for a typical embodiment thereof, reference is to be had to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of an infiltrator vest in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the vest of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a wearer left side view of the vest of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of a pouch shown in FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3 there is shown a combat vest comprising a left section 10 and a right section 11. Left section 10 is formed of a left front panel 10a and a right rear panel 10b which are joined together by lines of stitching 16 and 17 corresponding to the shoulder and left side of the wearer respectively. Panels 10a and 10b are cut to provide a left armhole 13 and to agree with the curvature of the left side of the body of the wearer.

The right vest section is similar to the left section 10 and comprises a right front panel 11a and a right rear panel 11b. Panels 11a and 11b are joined together. corresponding to the shoulder and the side of the wearer by lines of stitching 20 and 21 respectively. Panels 11a and 11b are cut and formed to provide a right armhole 13 and to agree with the curvature of the right side of the wearer.

The adjacent longitudinal edges of front panels 10a and 11a are cut out along curved lines 23 and 24 respectively to provide an upper V-shaped front opening for the throat and part of the chest of the wearer. The bottom of the V-shaped front opening 23-24 corresponds to about a point below the breastbone of the wearer thereby to aid in permitting body heat to escape. Below front opening 23-24 front panels 10a and 11a are separably connected together by suitable means such as a slide fastener 26. The longitudinal length of fastener 26 is approximately half the total longitudinal length of panels 10a and 11a. As best shown in FIG. 3, to form armhole 13, left panels 10a and 10b are out out on curved lines which extend downwardly to provide V-shaped armholes thereby to allow free movement of the arm and allow underarm heat to escape.

The lower portions of panels 10a and 10b are cut on lines 28 and 29 respectively to provide an inverted V- shaped side opening. Grommets 30 are connected to panels 10a and 10b adjacent the intersection of the V formed by lines 28 and 29 and are adapted to receive a wire holder element of a pistol or knife with the weapon hanging in the open space formed by the V. In the manner described above, it will be understood that right panels 11a and 11b are cut out to form a correspondingly shaped armhole 15 and a V-shaped bottom side opening. As illustrated a pistol may extend from grommets 31 and hang within the inverted V-shaped opening.

The adjacent longitudinal edges of rear panels 10b and 11b are cut out along curved lines 34 and 35 respectively to form an upper V-shaped back opening for the back of the neck and back of the wearer. Opening 34-35 extends to about the middle of the back. Below V-shaped opening 34-35, panels 10b and 11b are held together along the edges thereof by leather lacing 37 threaded through grommet openings 38 in panel b and grommet openings 39 in panel 11b. Openings 38 form a longitudinal or vertical line and openings 39 also form a longitudinal line of opening. It will be understood that lacing 37 is adjusted to form-fit the individual wearer.

Magazine pouches 40 are arranged on front panels 10a and 11a. Pouches 40 have side openings so that the wearer may easily open the pouch and remove a magazine while in a prone position. Specifically as shown'in FIG. 4, pouch 40 is formed of a single strip of canvas defining a side Wall 41, a bottom wall 42, a side wall 43 and a down-turned covering tongue or flap 44. The inner edges of walls 41-43 are joined to the outer side of front panels 10a and 1111 by lines of stitching. The panels form the rear walls of each of pouches 40. The front wall of each pouch is defined by a rectangular piece of canvas 46 having a lower edge and side edges turned inwardly toward the respective vest panel. The turned edges are joined to the inner sides adjacent the free edges of walls 4143 by lines of stitching. A snap fastener element 48a is connected adjacent the free end of flap 44 and engages a snap fastener element 48b connected adjacent the free end of side Wall 41 thereby to hold two magazine cases in place. The foregoing side opening of pouch 40 is contrasted, with prior front opening pouches in which a down-turned flap snaps into engagement with front wall 42. Such front opening pouches are substantially more difficult to open when the wearer is in a prone position and makes him more vulnerable to enemy fire.

Larger pouches 50 and 51 are connected to lower portions of front panels 10a and 1112 respectively. Pouch 51 comprises a map case 53 having a side opening flap 53a and a compass case 52. Pouch 50 may be used to hold first aid and survival equipment.

Two half belts 55a and 55b are joined to the outer sides of sections 10 and 11 respectively and are positioned to correspond with the waist of the wearer. Each of the half belts 55ab is formed of two strips of parallel webbing with the ends of each strip being folded with the folds sewn together to form a strap or tie. Specifically, left half belt 55a is joined to left section 10 by regularly spaced double-end box stitching 57. The regular spacing between stitching 57 is spaced around the periphery and provides sufiicient room to allow handles of grenades 58, clips, canteen pouches 59, etc. to be inserted between the belt and the vest section. The two strips of webbing of belt 55a extend as free front straps 56a and 56b adjacent the longitudinal edge of panel 10a. Similarly free back straps 60a and 60b extend from belt 55a adjacent the longitudinal edge of left rear panel 10b.

Right belt half 55b is joined to right section 11 by regularly spaced box stitching to provide for grenade handles etc. as above described. Belt half 55b extends as free front straps 58a and 58b adjacent the edge of right front panel 11a. Similarly free rear straps 61a and 61]) extend from belt half 55b adjacent the edge of right rear panel 11b.

To complete the snug fitting of the vest there is provided transverse straps 65 joined to the outside of and slightly below the top edge of left and right rear panels 10b and 1112 respectively. Strap 65 is adjustable by means of a conventional single piece buckle 66.

It will now be understood that in accordance with the invention the infiltrator vest is form fitted and may be made as snug as possible for maximum load bearing ability. In a helicopter assault in actual battle, slide fastener 26 may be engaged and front straps 56a and 58a are tied together and 56b and 58b are tied together. These straps are each of sufficient length to allow an ordinary square knot to be used. In this manner, form fitting is achieved by the previously fitted lacing 37, slide fastener 26, straps 56a, 53a, 56b, and 58b and strap 65.

On a routine patrol when the temperature is elevated the wearer may wish to open slide fastener 26 and the front straps are used to hold the vest front together. By opening fastener 26, ventilation is increased and the vest is allowed to shift in position as the vest may be chafiing some areas of the body.

By the use of simple front straps which cannot malfunction and the other fastening means, form fitting is achieved. The front straps increase the support of belt 55ab which carry equipment such as grenades, canteens, etc. In addition for still further support of the vest and of belt 55a-b, strap 60a may be tied to strap 61a and strap 60a may be tied to strap 61a.

Strips of canvas 70 and 71 are respectively joined to the outside of left and right rear panels 10b and 11b adjacent the shoulder blades of the wearer by way of double end box stitching at the center of each of the strips. The free ends of each strip 70, 71 are folded together along a longitudinal line and sewn to provide pairs of straps or ties 70ab and 71ab similar to the front and rear straps. Strap pairs 70a-b and 71ab are used to secure socks containing C-ration cans by tying each pair about an individual sock. The end of each sock extends into a respective loop 73 and 74 formed by strap 65. Specifically strap 65 is joined to panel 10]) by double end box stitching 65a and 6512 with a loop 73 of the strap material being formed between the stitchings. Similarly, loop 64 is formed by webbing 65 between double end box stitches 65c and 65d. Accordingly, the rear load on the vest may be balanced by a pair of socks secured by straps 70 and 71 and canteen pouches and grenades distributed about belt 55a-b for maximum balance. It is preferred to carry one canteen pouch at the left rear and one canteen pouch at the right rear of the belt.

A feature of the present invention is the ease in mounting. More particularly, the vest is turned so that the wearer faces the outside of panels 1% and 11b and holds the vest in both hands adjacent the armholes. The vest is then raised and swung over one of the wearers shoulders with the vest being held at arms length. When the vest is above the wearer, it is released so that it falls with the arms of the wearer entering the armholes and the vest falls into Wearing position.

The vest sections 10 and 11 may be formed of lightweight canvas suitable for wearing in the jungle while belt halves 55a and 55b, pouches 40, 50 and 51 and straps 70 and 71 are formed of coarser and stilfer canvas material. The vest may be reenforced by stiff canvas material such as at shoulder reinforcements 75 and 76-. It Will also be understood that additional equipment may be carried adjacent the bottom edges of sections 10 and 11 by grommets 78 spaced around the periphery.

For the purposes of further defining the elements of the infiltrator vest, it will be understood that each pouch 40 has three side walls 4143 and front wall 42 is joined to the side walls remote from the respective front panel. Flap 4 covers the open side of the pouch and has one end connected to side wall 3 which is adjacent the open side. The other end of flap 44 is separably connected to the other side wall 41 adjacent the open side. Further, straps 70 and 71 are centrally disposed on left and right rear panels 10b and 1111 respectively. Lacing 37 is threaded through spaced grommets 38 and 39 forming two longitudinal lines adjacent the center of the back of a wearer.

It will be understood by those skilled in the. art that the above described detailed embodiment is meant to be merely exemplary and that it is susceptible to modification and variation without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A snug fitting infiltrator vest comprising a left vest section and a right vest section, each section having inside and outside surfaces,

said left vest section having a left front panel and a left rear panel joined together by stitching and forming a left armhole,

said right vest section having a right front panel and a right rear panel joined together by stitching and forming a right armhole,

a V-shaped front opening for the throat and chest of a wearer formed in an upper portion of adjacent edges of said left and right front panel, means for separably connecting together the remaining lower portions of adjacent longitudinal edges of said left and right front panels,

a V-shaped rear Opening for the back of the neck of said wearer formed in the upper portion of adjacent edges of said left and right rear panels, means for adjustably connecting in accordance with the fit of said wearer the V-shaped rear opening and the remaining lower portion of adjacent longitudinal edges of said left and right rear panels, whereby both the upper and lower portions of said adjacent edges of said left and right rear panels are adjustably connected to each other,

left half belt joined to said outside surface of said left vest section and having extending from said belt at least one free strap adjacent said longitudinal edge of said left front panel, a right half belt joined to.

said outside surface of said right vest section and having extending from said belt at least one free front strap adjacent said longitudinal edge of said right front panel whereby said front straps may be tied together, and

plurality of magazine pouches each secured to said outside surface of said left and right front panels and arranged for a balanched load.

2. The infiltrator vest of claim 1 in which said V- shaped rear opening adjustable means are individual transverse straps joined to the left and to the right rear panels below a top edge of each panel, and means for adjustably securing said straps together.

3. The infiltrator vest of claim 1 in which said left and right half belts each have extending therefrom at least one free rear strap adjacent said longitudinal edges of the respective left and right front panels whereby said rear straps may be tied together. a

4. A snug fitting infiltrator vest comprising a left vest section and a right vest section, each section having inside and outside surfaces,

said left vest section having a left front panel and a left rear panel joined together by stitching and forming a left armhole,

said right vest section having a right front panel and a right rear panel joined together by stitching and forming a right armhole,

a V-shaped front opening for the throat and chest of a wearer formed in the upper portion of adjacent edges of said left and right front panel, means for separably connecting together the remaining lower portions of adjacent longitudinal edges of said left and right front panels,

a V-shaped rear opening for the back of the neck of said wearer formed in the upper portion of adjacent edges of said left and right rear panels, means for adjustably connecting in accordance with the fit of said wearer the remaining lower portion of adjacent longitudinal edges of said left and right rear panels, left half belt joined to said outside surface of said left vest section and having at least one free front strap extending adjacent said longitudinal edge of said left front panel, a right half belt joined to said outside surface of said right vest section and having at least one free front strap extending adjacent said longitudinal edge of said right front panel whereby said front straps may be tied together,

a plurality of magazine pouches each secured to said outside surface of said left and right front panels and arranged for a balanced load, and

said magazine pouches having three side walls, an open side and a front wall joined to said three side walls remote from a respective front panel and a flap for covering said open side having one end connected to a side wall adjacent to said open side and having an opposite end separably connected to the other side wall adjacent said open side.

5. The infiltrator vest of claim 4 in which for each of said pouches a longitudinal edge of each of said side walls is joined to an outside surface of a respective front panel by a line of stitching.

6. The infiltrator vest of claim 4 in which said remaining lower portions of adjacent longitudinal edges of said front panels has a longitudinal length approximately half the total longitudinal length of said front panels.

7. The infiltrator vest of claim 6 in which said remaining lower portions of adjacent longitudinal edges of said rear panels has a longitudinal length approximately half the total longitudinal length of said rear panels.

8. The infiltrator vest of claim 7 in which there is provided a strap for securing equipment for each of said rear panels with each of said straps being secured to and centrally disposed on an associated panel adjacent the shoul der blade of said wearer.

9. The infiltrator vest of claim 4 in which each of said half belts is joined to a respective vest section by spaced stitching to provide openings between each belt and vest section for carrying equipment and an additional belt connected between upper portions of said left and right rear panels.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 479,385 7/1892 Bean 294 X 2,324,154 7/1943 Haney 294 2,507,322 5/1950 Smith 294 X 3,261,042 7/1966 Baker -s 2-102 X RICHARD I SCANLAN, JR., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 224-5 

